The baseball playoff races are heating up, particularly in the American League, which I will take a look at here. The Athletics (88-67) have come up with two huge wins the last two nights in Texas against the Rangers (91-64), especially with the Angels (85-69) breathing down their necks. We're talking two big road wins with the season winding down against the two-time reigning American League Champions. The A's are just a half-game behind the Orioles (89-67) for the top Wild Card spot. I don't want to jinx things, but it looks like the A's have what it takes to get to the play-in game. And don't look now, but if they win tomorrow afternoon against Texas, they may have a chance to make things interesting in the AL West as well.
The Rays (85-70) have won seven straight to remain in the race. Their saving grace is that they have three games at home against the Orioles next week to close the season. The Yankees (90-65) aren't out of the woods yet, but the bet here is that they will win the American League East, leaving the A's and Orioles in the play-in game (hard to see Tampa Bay getting a sweep of Baltimore, which is what they may need). But, there sure are a lot of teams in the chase even at this late juncture.
Though it should still be interesting to see what happens, I still oppose the second Wild Card being added. I like that it should be harder to make the playoffs and that the regular season was still a reward. Although, on the plus side, I think baseball's regular season is still the least watered down in all of sports (though this doesn't make it okay in my book to water it down more).
The AL Central is going down to the wire as well. The White Sox (82-73) appear to be fading at the wrong time and now trail the Tigers (83-72) by one game after leading the division by a few games not that long ago. This thing is far from over, but the Sox need to turn it around now. I think the Tigers now have the momentum, not to mention a talent advantage and will win the division by a slight margin. Detroit would be a very dangerous team in the playoffs, with Justin Verlander at the top of the rotation and a middle of the lineup that features Miguel Cabrera (still a realistic chance to be the first player to win the Triple Crown since 1967) and Prince Fielder.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Sunday, September 16, 2012
24-21
Utah (2-1) defeated #25 BYU (2-1) tonight 24-21 at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. It was one of the craziest finishes to a game I have ever seen. It was even a little crazy for a Utah-BYU game. I thought the last minute was a combination of past rivalry games. You had BYU converting on 4th and long from deep in their own territory. You had a blocked field goal. And then after that, you had a field goal bounce off the upright. It really is amazing that you could have that many things like that happen again.
I think it's fair to say that BYU had a fair shot to win the game and that Utah won it fair and sqaure. For that I am glad. I guess that's the main thing at this point. I am happy for the Utes!
I think it's fair to say that BYU had a fair shot to win the game and that Utah won it fair and sqaure. For that I am glad. I guess that's the main thing at this point. I am happy for the Utes!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Thoughts on Utah's football opener
I attended the Utah-Northern Colorado game last Thursday evening. The Utes (1-0) won 41-0. Northern Colorado (0-1) isn't a very good team at all. Not only are they an FCS (formerly I-AA) team, they went 0-11 last year. So, there isn't too much that can be gleaned from the game.
That being said, there were a few things that I noticed. Junior Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn didn't look all that impressive. Most of the pass patterns looked pretty basic and I'm sure that was largely due to the opponent and not wanting to put too many complex plays on film for future opponents to study. Wynn made most of those throws, but again they were pretty basic plays. Wynn's interception on a deep ball was pretty concerning; I'm sure I'm not alone in wondering about his ability to throw it deep.
For now, though, I think the Utes need to give Wynn the shot to prove he can make the plays necessary to win. If he can't after a few games, then I think the coaches can re-evaluate.
Senior John White looked solid again at running back and the defense looked stifling. It's tough to read too much into one game against a very poor opponent. However, I think White and the defense will again each be very good. Those will be keys to the season.
The kicker position looks anything but certain at this point. Senior Coleman Petersen is the returning starter after a shaky finish to last season. Petersen missed three field goals (including one that would have tied the game with mere seconds to play) in an embarrassing 17-14 home loss to Colorado to end the regular season. He also barely snuck in the tying extra point late in the 4th quarter against Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl -- a play that nearly gave me a heart attack (thankfully he made it and the Utes went on to win in overtime).
Petersen did not look extremely impressive on Thursday. He missed an extra point and a chip shot 27 yard field goal. Right now he simply can't be relied on late in a close game. I hope he looks better as the season goes on, but at this point I hope the game doesn't come down to his foot.
The competition gets a lot tougher for the Utah this week. The Utes travel north to Logan to face in-state rival Utah State (1-0) this Friday night. The start time for that one is 6 p.m. MT. The game can be seen on ESPN2. The Utes have won 12 straight over the Aggies, but this appears to be a different Utah State program than in past years. I expect it will be a competitive game, but the pick here is that the Utes win this one by 7 in what will likely be their last trip to Logan for the foreseeable future.
That being said, there were a few things that I noticed. Junior Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn didn't look all that impressive. Most of the pass patterns looked pretty basic and I'm sure that was largely due to the opponent and not wanting to put too many complex plays on film for future opponents to study. Wynn made most of those throws, but again they were pretty basic plays. Wynn's interception on a deep ball was pretty concerning; I'm sure I'm not alone in wondering about his ability to throw it deep.
For now, though, I think the Utes need to give Wynn the shot to prove he can make the plays necessary to win. If he can't after a few games, then I think the coaches can re-evaluate.
Senior John White looked solid again at running back and the defense looked stifling. It's tough to read too much into one game against a very poor opponent. However, I think White and the defense will again each be very good. Those will be keys to the season.
The kicker position looks anything but certain at this point. Senior Coleman Petersen is the returning starter after a shaky finish to last season. Petersen missed three field goals (including one that would have tied the game with mere seconds to play) in an embarrassing 17-14 home loss to Colorado to end the regular season. He also barely snuck in the tying extra point late in the 4th quarter against Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl -- a play that nearly gave me a heart attack (thankfully he made it and the Utes went on to win in overtime).
Petersen did not look extremely impressive on Thursday. He missed an extra point and a chip shot 27 yard field goal. Right now he simply can't be relied on late in a close game. I hope he looks better as the season goes on, but at this point I hope the game doesn't come down to his foot.
The competition gets a lot tougher for the Utah this week. The Utes travel north to Logan to face in-state rival Utah State (1-0) this Friday night. The start time for that one is 6 p.m. MT. The game can be seen on ESPN2. The Utes have won 12 straight over the Aggies, but this appears to be a different Utah State program than in past years. I expect it will be a competitive game, but the pick here is that the Utes win this one by 7 in what will likely be their last trip to Logan for the foreseeable future.
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